Meet the Reviewers

Kelsey is the Teen Services Librarian at the Smith Public Library and has had the pleasure of being here since they opened the new building in 2011. Prior to that, she had lived in Ohio, where she was born and raised, and was working long overnight shifts at her college library. Large academic libraries are creepy at 3am, just FYI. She prefers fantasy books over everything else, and The Lord of the Rings blew her adolescent mind the first time she read it. In her spare time she does way too much. Including, but not limited to: Writing for the Dallas Observer’s food blog, eating food to write about for the food blog, doing hot yoga to offset all the food she eats, playing video games, writing about video games for Kill Screen, and of course, reading. She owns three adorable cats and one adorable husband.

Debbie is the Children’s Services Librarian at Smith Public Library. She was born in rural Indiana a very long time ago. Perhaps this is why she loves historical fiction so much. She also loves a good mystery but, the reason for that remains a mystery… Debbie does not like ruffles, bows or sparkly stuff. She does like all kinds of animals, naming her cars and walking in the woods. Debbie has been to Dublin, Ireland, Cozumel, Mexico, Frankfurt, Nurnberg and Ulm, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. She would like to go to many more places when she gets the chance.

Ofilia is the outgoing (i.e. loud) Supervisor of the Youth Services Department. Her childhood is well documented in Antoinette Portis’ picture book Princess Super Kitty, but she refuses to discuss her superhero past. She likes to read ghost stories and novels classified as “magical realism,” which fuel her delusion that she may still get a letter inviting her to Hogwarts. Ofilia is the team member most likely to knit something for you or more accurately for your cat. If allowed to go feral, she would eat cheese pizza every day and drink her weight in coffee. Ideally, she wants to live in a world where it is totally acceptable to break into song at any moment.

Roben is very happy to be a Youth Services Librarian at the Smith Public Library. She is a proud Texas native who also enjoys traveling. She has visited 49 of the 50 states (guess which one is #50!) and seven countries. Magical castles, beautiful gardens, and spectacular libraries are at the top of her “List of Favorite Places”. She loves to read books of any flavor, plant things in the garden, play games (all sorts), and eat peppermint ice cream.

Yentl is a Youth Services Assistant at the Smith Public Library and has lived in Texas for forever. Fiction is her favorite thing to read; she literally likes to read everything except scary things (because they’re too scary). She has a special love for manga and anime and is in love with all the guys in them. In her free time she likes to pin a million things on Pinterest and buy awesome stationery items (especially if they are Korean or Japanese because they’re even cuter). Oh, and she also likes to read. A lot. And she obviously wears tutus sometimes.